sports Here's a rundown of how everything panned out for the Packers last week - in a nutshell.
Girls hockey keeps rolling
Another week, and another West Fargo girls hockey win.
This one came at the expense of visiting Devils Lake (1-8-1 overall). The Packers (8-0-0) routed the Firebirds 8-0 to pick...
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2013-01-28 13:15:14

Here's a rundown of how everything panned out for the Packers last week - in a nutshell.

Girls hockey keeps rolling

Another week, and another West Fargo girls hockey win.

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This one came at the expense of visiting Devils Lake (1-8-1 overall). The Packers (8-0-0) routed the Firebirds 8-0 to pick up their fourth shutout of the season. To date, West Fargo has only been scored on four times.

Leading the Packers with a goal and three assists was overall points leader Kacie Johnson. Johnson remains the No. 1 points leader in the state with 27, well ahead of second place; Fargo North's Haley Olmstead, who has 18 points.

The Packers offense was ruthless against Firebirds goalie Kelsey Opgaard, who made 39 stops on the night. Meanwhile, West Fargo goalie Andrea Klug saw little action, and only had to stop six shots.

The Packers face Minot at 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Veterans Memorial Arena. At 9-2-0, the Majettes are the only team between West Fargo and the No. 1 spot in North Dakota.

Some food for thought: Minot and the Packers have met once before already this season, with West Fargo winning 5-0.

Boys swimming and diving can't be stopped

West Fargo apparently has no intention of relinquishing its boys swimming and diving crown this season.

Coming off last season's state championship, and with two first-place finishes to kick of the year - one at the West Fargo Quadrangular and the other at the Spartan Pentathlon - the Packers have proceeded to sweep aside the competition. Last week, victims included Grand Forks, Bismarck Century, and the entire Manley Invitational competitive field.

The Packers started their rash of wins with back-to-back dual victories over Grand Forks and Bismarck Century. Of the two duals, West Fargo missed first place in just one event: the 200 individual medley against the Patriots.

A better measuring stick came Saturday, Jan. 9, at Fargo North's Manley Invitational. Here, the Packers faced seven other schools from across the state, including West Region powers Minot and Mandan.

Still, West Fargo proved why it is considered one of the toughest swimming teams in the state, taking the invite with 475.5 points; a healthy 57.5 points ahead of the second-place Braves.

The Packers' biggest strength comes from their depth of talent. During the invitational, for example, six swimmers placed in the top three. Throughout the week, some of West Fargo's top swimmers included Jacob Weible, Daniel Hulbert, Adam Smestad, Ethan Doll, Jared Sykora, and Austin and Jeffrey Keller.

West Fargo looks to continue its unprecedented winning streak next week, when they again have three straight days of competition. The Packers first head to Moorhead on Jan. 21, for a 6 p.m. dual. Then, the Packers drive to Minot for a triangular on Jan. 22, and an invitational on Jan. 23.

Boys hockey finally finds a winning combination

Whatever the Packers boy hockey team is doing, they're doing it well. After a short winless skid, West Fargo rebounded and has begun to pick up steam.

Last week, the Packers (3-3-1 EDC, 7-3-2 overall) won two critical East Region games to bring their current winning streak to four.

West Fargo's first came Tuesday, at Fargo Shanley (1-5-0, 5-8-0), where the Packers topped the Deacons 6-4. Dusty Munyer led the charge with a goal and two assists. Brothers Conor and Dusty Jonasson also had big games, as Conor assisted on three goals and Dusty scored twice.

On Saturday, the Packers were at Devils Lake, where they handed the Firebirds (3-4-1, 7-5-1) a 5-3 loss.

The Munyer-Jonasson-Jonasson line again inflicted the most damage, accounting for two goals and three assists. But Charlie Torrance and Jeremy Johnson also stepped up and had big games, with each racking up a goal and two assists.

West Fargo goalie Cameron Holland has also been strong, making 22 saves against the Deacons and 19 against the Firebirds.

The Packers have two more important East Region games this week. First, they were at Fargo South (3-2-2, 5-4-2) on Tuesday, Jan. 12, but the results were not in when this edition of the Pioneer went to press. West Fargo plays again Saturday, Jan. 16, at Grafton-Park River (4-1-1, 5-6-1) for a 3:15 p.m. game.

Short and sweet

Boys basketball: The Packers boys basketball team (3-1, 5-3) split last week, winning 66-57 against Fargo Shanley (2-2, 2-5) on Thursday, before falling 65-48 to Breckenridge, Minn. (5-1, 10-2) on Friday. West Fargo played Moorhead on Jan. 12, but the results were not in when the Pioneer went to press. They play again Friday, Jan. 15, at 7:45 p.m. at Wahpeton.

Girls basketball: West Fargo (0-4, 1-6) sunk deeper in the standings after losing 59-46 to Fargo Shanley (3-1, 5-3) on Thursday. They have a chance to end their six-game losing streak Saturday, Jan. 16, when Wahpeton comes to town for a 4 p.m. tip-off.

Wrestling: The Packers proceeded to rock the North Dakota wrestling world at last weekend's Bismarck Rotary - a tournament slated to be one of West Fargo's toughest of the year. The Packers grabbed second place with 199 points, getting edged by Rapid City Stevens (S.D.) by one only point. They faces Fargo South at home on Friday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m.